All We Need
by Daydreamr4ever
Summary: Single dad David Nolan finds himself suddenly raising his daughter Emma all by himself. But is he really ready to be a dad? And why does he keep having these strange dreams of castles and dragons? Rated K , Eventual Snowing.
1. Sleep is for those without infants

**A/N: My favorite form of procrastination is writing everything except what I'm supposed to write. This is just a little ficlet that I might turn into a longer story down the road.**

**Enjoy!**

**~Caitlyn**

Glass shards were flying everywhere. Screams ricocheted off the stone walls, and servants and knights alike were running in terror, but David was not one of them. The Prince was in the midst of a sword fight, taking down black knight after black knight with his newborn daughter in his arm, sleeping soundly. He had to get her to the wardrobe. He had to get her to safety.

_ You will not succeed…_ A slimy voice chimed in his head. _Rumplestiltskin_. The evil sorcerer had warned him that he would not succeed in an important quest. In a moment when he needed his strength most, it would fail him.

"AAH!" He cried out in pain, as a sword grazed his shoulder. Without even thinking, he swung back, stabbing his opponent right through the heart. Covering his daughter's head, he charged into the nursery. The wardrobe. He had to send her through. He had to give her her best chance.

A harsh laugh sounded behind him, and David whirled around to see his least favorite person standing in the doorway, blocking the exit. The Evil Queen, Regina herself. "You can't save her now." She raised her hand, and a sphere of flames flickered to life in her palm. David realized what the woman was about to do, and rolled to the side just as she sent the fire flying at the magical wardrobe, and David watched in horror as their last shred of hope erupted in a fiery blaze.

"Do you know what you have done?!" He screamed at the woman. Emma wailed, and the Queen grinned, her normally malicious smile now twisted with something else- victory.

"Yes. I have finally won!" She cried triumphantly, throwing her arms out into the air as the windows imploded, and purple smoke rolled in, rapidly filling the room. David dropped his sword and grasped his baby with both hands, covering her as best as he could. "I'm sorry, Emma." He whispered, before everything went dark.

David awoke in a cold sweat, jolting upright up in bed. He was alone. The room was dark, the only light being that of a thin, crescent moon filtering in through the windows. He rubbed his head, trying to gather his bearings. He was home, by himself, as he should be. _What a crazy dream._ He shook his head roughly, like a dog shaking water from its coat, as though he could scatter the peculiar thoughts away like droplets of water.

He was about to fall back to sleep when a baby's wail sounded from the other room. "Emma!" He cried, startled. Of course! That's why he'd had the strange dream- Emma had needed him. He leapt out of bed and ran down the hallway to his daughter's nursery, bare feet making sticky noises against the wood floors.

Emma's nursery was a small affair, nothing too fancy. The walls were painted a light, spring-like green color with white trim, making the room seem bigger than it was. That had been his ex-wife's idea. The moment Emma was born, she took off. She hadn't wanted kids, but had played along, truing to match David's excitement right up to the moment things got real, and her daughter was brought into the world. Typical. It had only been a few days since she left… or had it been months?

Emma's demanding cries stirred the man from his musings, and David leaned over and scooped Emma up from her little wooden crib, wincing as he did so. His old shoulder injury still ached as though it were still fresh, though he knew he'd gotten it ages ago. Some sort of accident involving a lighting instrument, but he couldn't remember exactly what it had been. Instead, David focused rocking her back and forth, murmuring soothing words to her, as it he had done this a million times before. Well, he had of course.

David felt his way around the room, kicking toys out of the day until his knee bumped into the oversized, overstuffed chair in the corner of the room, and sank into it, baby nestled in his arms. She sleepily pulled at his shirt, wrapping the fabric in her chubby little hands, as if to say, _I may be small, but you still belong to me_. And she wasn't lying. Even though she was just a newborn, he was already wrapped around her tiny little finger. She was so precious, and he couldn't imagine ever wanting to leave this little girl. Why would he?

As he fell back towards sleep though, his mind wandered back towards that strange dream. Him, a prince! What an idea. Still, that dream had seemed so real. Almost like a memory.

Surely it had meant something. Surely there was more.

There was more.

**FYI, Emma does age here. He's waking up a few weeks after the curse took over. **

**Let me know if you liked it, and if you'd like to see this turn into something more down the road, because I love writing SingleDad!Charming :)**

**BYENOW!**


	2. The Greatest Movie of All Time

**A/N: So, I may or may not go back and change this into a longer story, but right now, I'm planning on this being a series of drabbles with Daddy Charming and Emma. Because they're freakin' cuties.**

**NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this chapter totally and completely reflect how the author feels about motion pictures, but should in no way be used against her.**

**Enjoy!**

**~Caitlyn**

Another thing being a single dad didn't allow for was clubbing, something David learned after five nights of declining offers to go out to The Rabbit Hole with Robin, Jefferson and his other mates. "You're going to ruin your livers. And I've got a very important date tonight." He reminded them in a very dad-like voice, at which his friends laughed and hung up on him.

If he was being completely honest with himself, it wasn't that he _couldn't_ go out with his friends, but that he didn't want to leave Emma with a babysitter. Ruby had offered her services plenty of times, but he always turned her down, saying something lame like "maybe next time." and then he usually just read a book or played with a stuffed animal with Emma until she fell asleep. Which was all well and good, but it got boring after a while, the same old thing over and over. But tonight, he had a plan.

He went all out. Popcorn and hot chocolate with cinnamon for him, formula and mashed bananas for her, the comfiest spots on the couch, dimmed lights, a nice candle lit, and the VCR hooked up and ready to go. Finally, he popped the tape in, settled Emma in his lap and pressed play.

"Get ready, Emma. You're about to witness something truly amazing." He said as the Star Wars theme song began to play, and David introduced Emma to the magic of The Force.

For years after that, whenever one of them felt down or upset, or just needed a moment away from the rest of world, father and daughter would break out the junk food, curl up on the sofa and watch what they both deemed "the best movie in the world." Sometimes, the only magic they needed in their worlds was one of lightsabers, Millennium Falcons and 2 hours of Luke Skywalker whining about it all.

**This may or may not reflect what my mom and I will do some days. Any days. But not all days.**

**Question: How do y'all feel about the continuing this as a drabble series? Let me know it the reviews!**

**BYENOW!**


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